Welcome Political-Buzz.com’s liveblog of the GOP YouTube debate in St. Pete. We’ll give you instant reaction to the events on the stage as the unfold, live. Refresh the page frequently for constant updates.

• 8:01 - Anderson Cooper starts us off with a hurried into, leaving the floor to Florida Governor Sunshine Crist to give proper introductions for the candidates. This should take awhile…
• 8:06 - While the GOP candidates get their pictures snapped, CNN’s “best political team” yaks it up in a sort of preview. Isn’t that what the entire day was for? Get this thing started ASAP. Noooo… A montage of goofy YT clips that were shot down for the debate is not what we want.
• 8:10 - A Washington State YouTube user with a musical intro to the GOP candidates? Guess we forgot just how stupid these things are…
• 8:11 - Rudy gets a tough Q from an angry NYC resident about New York’s “sanctuary city” status. That’s what we wanted! Of course, Rudy immediately dodges the question with a plethora of stats and blame for the federal government. That can’t cut it, Rudy. Mitt gets it on a tee: AC - “Was New York a sanctuary city?” Mitt: “Absolutely.“
• 8:13 - Oooooh… Rudy on Mitt’s illegal gardeners at his Massachusetts home. “Well, he had a “sanctuary mansion.” Bringing it up is a cheap ploy to turn attention away from his own immigration problem, but it’s a tough tack that might work.
• 8:15 - Mitt hits back immediately, taking offense at the jab. Much shouting and interruptions ensue, leading to the first real fight of any campaign - Dem or Republican. It really did get nasty. Thing is, Rudy got the worse end of the deal for bringing up Mitt’s illegal Guatamalens. Boos cascade down from the audience as Rudy pushes the issue too far. Explosive issue that will come up again tonight; make sure of that.
• 8:20 - After Thompson takes another shot at Rudy’s NYC as a “sanctuary city,” Rudy responds by saying once again that he did not preside over such a metropolis. “NYC was not a sanctuary city!” Bad move to fight that battle on a night when he is already losing.
• 8:22 - McCain lends dignity to the immigration issue with his answer, but it won’t please the conservative base. They want pandering (don’t we all…), not sober reasoning.
• 8:23 - Uh-oh. Tom Tancredo’s happy. “They’re trying to out-Tancredo, Tancredo!” on immigration. That’s not great, it’s a problem. But not for the RW base.
• 8:27 - Immigration is again proving to be a real hot button for Republicans. Makes one think that the press has been glossing over its importance in both the GOP primary and the general. Populist emotional language on the issue has been golden, this debate no exception. Rudy might be in trouble…
• 8:29 - Romney takes on an especially charming Huckabee over giving extra college scholarships to worthy children of illegal immigrants. Huck gave a good explanation that the kids deserved a shot to better themselves. After that, Mitt and his diatribe gets a huge ovation. That’s scary, folks. Scaaaaarrrry…
• 8:33 - It’s in the comments, but here’s another link to 2008 Central’s debate liveblog. They’re all great, so open a new window/tab and check it out.
• 8:36 - Poor ‘ol Rudy finally gets in the action again. Talks up reigning in government spending, a favorite of his. But even that has a bad tasting connotation with his NYC days.
• 8:37 - TechPresident has a really innovative liveblog. PB is definitely using it next time. Sweet stuff. Oh, the debate. Sorry…
• 8:40 - No one but Huckabee and Ron Paul talks about gutting the IRS for some sort of flat tax/Fair tax. That’s gotta be surprising.
• 8:42 - McCain attacks Paul over his continued vocal opposition to the war in Iraq, “bring the troops home,” etc., and gets booed down by the crowd. Ron Paul has a lot of supporters, but no red blooded GOP voter is willing to back JMac up on his support for the war? Seriously? That’s sad.
• 8:43 - Oh my God! Grover Norquist hijacks the event and pops up on a giant video board to grill the candidates on…oh… He just submitted a YouTube question on taxes. Okay. Just the usual Norquist tricks of getting “no new taxes” pledges from the candidates. Still gimmicky.
• 8:48 - Now it’s time for YouTube-style campaign ads from each candidate, which will apparently pop up throughout the debate. Tancredo’s is up first: “Tancredo takes on Hillary.” Cute.
• 8:52 - First break! Wait… Fred Thompson’s YT campaign piece immediately preceding the scheduled break personally attacks Romney and Huckabee over abortion and taxes respectively. Time for messy rebuttals… It’s an easy defense, considering Fred’s clips are a bit amateurish (and old). Interesting to see Huckabee before he lost his hundreds of pounds. Funny.
• 8:54 - Now the break.
• 9:00 - Yikes. Rudy gets his firt gun question, regarding his anti-gun NYC record. The night gets even better for the frontrunner! Rudy botches his answer,rattling off his gun crime reduction stats as New York mayor and endorsing “minimal” regulations on gun ownership. He’s got to be kidding. Oh…he’s not. It’s fair to stick to your principles on the trail, but it’s all pander at a debate. This mess from Rudy is just embarrassing.
• 9:04 - A YT questioner asks the candidates about their gun collections. Amazing. Hunter and Romney beam as they describe how many guns they own. Er…good move. Thompson says it best: “I own a couple guns, but I won’t tell you what kind they are or where they are.”
• 9:07 - A question about black-on-black crime from an African-American father and son. Is that allowed here? Not to worry. Romney shrugs it off and talks about beefing up police forces.
• 9:12 - Thompson panders on abortion, then Rudy answers that he wouldn’t sign a bill to nationally ban abortion. Gets out of it by somewhat backing Fred’s state’s rights position. But since the Q was specifically about gutting Roe v Wade, it’s hardly a getaway for Rudy. Thompson and Romney want Roe overturned and then abortion given to the states. Apparently, Rudy doesn’t even want that. No one in the audience caught it, though.
• 9:14 - Huckabee gives an intelligent and smart (for a conservative) answer on the death penalty. Talks about the conflict between being “pro-life” yet supporting the death penalty for criminals. He’s got chops…
• 9:17 - Whoa… Explosive Q. “Do you believe in this book (the Bible).” Ties up Rudy and Romney (”It’s the word of God.” Period.), but Pastor Huckabee breezes through a quick theological discussion on the topic. Yeah…
• 9:19 - Second commercial break!
• 9:23 - Foreign policy shows up with about 30 minutes left. Really lets us know what the GOP’s priorities are. But this is great news for Rudy. It’s his bread and butter.
• 9:25 - Rudy starts to breath better after mentioning “the night of September 11th,” and battling Islamic terrorists. This might sustain his rep after a horrid first half. GOP voters always drink the 9/11 kool-aid.
• 9:29 - JMac smackdown on Romney after Mitt touts the wondrous benefits of waterboarding. Eloquent and thunderous response on allowing torture. He’s definitely the source to go to, right?
• 9:30 - Mitt wants to waterboard because Cofer Black says so?How many folks even knows who Cofer Black is? That’s ridiculous.
• 9:31 - McCain - “Life isn’t ‘24′ and Jack Bauer.” Boo-yeah!
• 9:33 - Finally; Iraq. Fred gives his take on when troops should be pulled. “We should stay there until our mission is complete.” But what the heck is the mission, exactly? Shouldn’t that be part of the answer? But no major GOP candidate will really get anywhere on Iraq. They’re in lockstep with each other and President Bush. That works for the Republican rank-and-file.
• 9:36 - Ron Paul (who finally gets to speak) makes the huge mistake of taking on McCain over the end of the Vietnam War. Ouch…
• 9:38 - Rudy gets back to immigration…and gloats about stopping “harmful illegal immigration” from Haiti in the 1980’s as a Regan DOJ official. Is it really a good move to boast about preventing refugees from a war-torn country from entering the U.S.? That’s not really objective, but still.
• 9:40 - A funny Cheney animation on the power of the Vice Presidency. How clever. Not relevant with this crowd, but clever.
• 9:42 - Last commercial break!
• 9:48 - PB’s inbox just got flooded with dozens of emails from the Romney campaign touting Mitt’s debate success (before it’s even over) and attacking his rivals for statements from the evening. Don’t they have better things to do? But we’ll still take the emails.
• 9:49 - Romney dodges a Q on gays in the military. Says it’s “not the time” to put gays on the battlefield. Okay…
• 9:51 - What fun! CNN just cut the mic of a retired U.S. Brig. Gen. who is in favor of allowing gays in the U.S. military (the guy is gay). The dude was chastising the candidates, then went silent as his mic died.
• 9:53 - A cut shot to Chuck Norris! Wow!
• 9:55 - Out of foreign policy and Iraq and on to…space exploration? How about some serious discussion on the merits of staying in Iraq? Or if an invasion of Iran is necessary? Some GOP voters do care about those things. Just a bad set-up.
• 9:57 - Huckabee brings down the house as he proposes putting Hillary “on the first rocket to Mars!” Ha, ha…
• 10:00 - Overtime!
• 10:01 - Oh: And how about the economy?
• 10:02 - Holy smokes! A query on the Confederate flag! Complete with a big ‘ol naval jack hanging from the wall behind the young dude. Obviously trying to stir things up. Mitt stutters and decides to meekly denounce such a display. Fred, the only hard-core Southerner, actually gets a little angry as he states his opposition to flying the Stars and Bars in “prominent” public places. More than expected.
• 10:09 - Final question is a biggie: How could Giuliani root for the Red Sox in the MLB playoffs after the Yankees were eliminated? “I’m an American League fan” doesn’t cut it.
• 10:10 - That’s it., Thanks for joining us on our debate liveblog. Look for complete analysis of the debate tomorrow. (A bit later than usual.)